Amnesia
by boshrocks
Summary: After the final battle Draco wakes up with amnesia. Hermione gets an idea. Ron disapproves.


The war was finally over. It was done. All those long months of fighting, camping out, skirmishes with the enemy; it was all over.

Hermione knelt in the mud gazing about her at the wreckage of the Final Battle. Here and there survivors within the Order of the Phoenix were moving around searching for other survivors. Dotted around Healers from St Mungo's were tending to the wounded on benches brought out from the great hall. High above her the castle which had once been her school had gaping holes in it, smoke still furling from them. On the other side the walls surrounding the grounds had been broken open too.

They might have known Hogwarts would be the setting.

Even the Giant Squid was dead; it just lay there unmoving on the edge of its lake, a few tentacles in the water staining it with a mixture of blood and ink. A sad sight.

They had won, but it didn't really feel like a victory. Hermione felt empty, cold, like it hadn't really happened. Like they didn't deserve to win. She knew that was nonsense of course. Of anyone, she had deserved it the most; she had been kidnapped by Draco Malfoy and tortured for what she knew. It had lasted for months before Harry found her and rescued her.

She looked down at her defeated enemy. He lay there, as still as the squid, no mark upon him, save for the mud and sweat that caked them all. That was a small kindness, she felt, his pale beauty left unblemished for all eternity.

During the battle everyone had split off into separate duels, and she had found herself facing off to Draco. During the fight she had felt a queer sense of justice, payback for every insult he had ever sent her way, every time he had called her mudblood, all the hexes and tricks. She had suffered seven years of bullying from this boy and then a further seven months as his hostage.

She felt no remorse as she looked at his lifeless body, but she did feel pity. She had learned to work past her anger with him years ago. True; his betrayal had enraged her beyond belief. He had been their spy, he had helped them. Then the truth had come out and he kidnapped her. It was one of the biggest blows they'd had to suffer.

For her in particular. It had been she who converted him, brought him over to Harry's side, and convinced him to spy on his father and the Death Eaters.

She hadn't meant to kill him, and she didn't think she had. But looking at him now, his steely grey eyes staring up into space, that smirk plastered onto his face for all eternity, she did feel a moment of regret. She had such a history with him, shame for it to come to an end like this.

She reached out and brushed a few stray hairs away from his face. His skin was still warm. Something about that struck her as odd. Usually corpses cooled down very quickly.

She jumped when the corpse of Draco Malfoy blinked.

He took deep breaths, exhausted eyes looking around him. They fell on Hermione.

"Who are you?"

Hermione felt her mouth dropping open. "Don't you remember?"

"No. Should I?"

"Yes. I would think it very odd indeed if you didn't."

"Why? Are we friends?"

Hermione considered for a moment. "Yes. We are."

There was going to be hell to pay.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ron raged at her after she had helped Draco over to the healers to get him checked over.

"Helping him."

"He's the enemy! What is it with you and fraternising with the enemy?"

"Oh not that again. Look, he doesn't remember a thing. He doesn't even know his own name. It's the perfect opportunity to re-educate him. Don't you see?"

"He really doesn't remember anything?"

"None of it. Our fight must have hit the reset button or something."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"Why do you want to re-educate him anyway?"

"I think he could have grown up to be a great man, his upbringing just got in the way. Because his parents filled his head with all their pure-blood nonsense and Voldemort's policies, he turned out the way he did. Take out that education and put a new one in, maybe he'll turn out differently."

"I'm hearing a lot of 'if' come out of this plan."

"Well, it's an experiment. I don't know how it'll work out, if it does."

"Yep, this'll go well."

"Ugh, you're not helping you know."

"I know." Ron grinned.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How's Percy doing?"

"Not well. But he should recover. That's what we're all hoping for."

"Weasleys are made of stronger stuff than people realise. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Seen Harry?"

"Yeah he's…there! Poor old Neville."

"He's not dead!"

"It was a close thing. Bellatrix really wanted to finish him off."

As they watched Harry, he got up from his kneeling position by the prostrate Neville, and walked over to the body of his fallen enemy. He just stood there staring down at Voldemort.

"Wonder what he's thinking." Hermione said.

"It's weird isn't it? It being over and all."

"I don't know what to do with myself now. We've been fighting for so long."

"How 'bout going to find your parents?"

"They're happy where they are. They'll be happier still not knowing what we did. I'll leave them there."

"I don't understand that, but if you do it must be fine."

"We're going to have to find jobs now aren't we?"

"Yep. And having 'Defeater of Voldemort' is one hell of a credential."


End file.
